Classical Guitar Insider

Adam Tully is currently conducting interviews and documenting the current state of the Tango in Argentina and the U.S for his upcoming podcast. He created his own guitar program at NYU, and has a beard. He has a sunny disposition and is available for Bat/Bar mitzvahs and corporate events. But so am I, so call me first. 

Columbia University Professor Marco Cappelli and his daughter come to my house where we talk about Harry Potter, Oscar Ghiglia, and the color blue. 

 I interview someone else who's spent the last 20 years dealing with bad people. How are we going to process this anger? By taking it out on our family of course! My freind Christopher Gotzen-Berg comes on the show. 

Badi Assad drops by and slaps me in my face, grabs my chin and says "don't tell me what to do!” slaps me again and then tells us about her journey from classical guitarist to Brazilian pop princess. 

The Cuban born guitarist escapes Castro, works his way from a factory floor to Yale and becomes one of the most powerful musicians in our industry. Also I complain about my birthday and Best Buy.

I sit down with the guy who has our old press kits, Presenter/Composer/Guitarist Frank Wallace. Oh and stop sending him your head shots from 12 years ago. You know who you are (I didn't know Doug James was 28!).

I talk to fellow struggling NYC guitarist Mike Gisinan about his new project combining Japanese and European Chamber instruments and making less money than a hotdog vendor. 

I do like men my own age! New Music and old men on episode 22 (year olds suck). 

I hate people that post about their half marathons, people that post pictures of their kids instead of themselves, and men my own age, except for University of Baltimore/Peabody at John's Hopkins guitar professor Zane Forshee. Him I like. Oh, and I hate 22 year olds.  

I sit down with the real most interesting man in the world, Guitar Foundation of America winner Kevin Gallagher. 

The 27 year old manager of some of the biggest young names in our industry (Caballero, Goryachev, Villagas, Palmer) throws his superior intellect at me and makes me Karate chop the door after he leaves. Just kidding. He’s awesome.   

Luthier Gary Lee explains why guitars cost so much when they are not made by machines and teams of imported slave laborers in the middle of Pensylvania.

It's ZAIRA MUNDO ZAIRA MUNDO!!! Crazy fun conversation with who the New York Times calls "arresting and colorful" and who we call "The Tornado." Zaira Meneses opens up about Mexico, her blossoming career and being married to Eliot Fisk.

Morton Gould ASCAP composer, and old college friend mine, Dr. Anthony Joseph Lanman talks about how awesome it is to spend nearly two decades composing award winning music that is performed by dozens of ensembles in as many countries and then be totally broke. 

Carlos Barbosa-Lima talks football, baseball, Brazilian history and throws in a bit about being a founding father of the Bossa Nova Movement with Antonio Carlos Jobim, Charlie Bird and others. We also drank allot of beer. 

The Greek Goddess of guitar, Antigoni Goni, talks about her years as heads of the Columbia University Guitar Department, the Julliard Preparatory Division, and the Royal Conservatory in Brussels. Bret tells her that he spent five hours playing Grand Theft Auto Five yesterday and earned the "you ain't my daddy" achievement on x-box live.

Guitarist and producer of the Bay Area's Omni Guitar Series Richard Patterson talks about his role in the movie Five Year Engagement and takes Bret out to a late lunch at a nearby outdoor cafe where they sing Cucurrucucu to women coming home from work. The women were not amused. 

Two National Endowment for the Arts Solo Recitalist Fellowships and a scholarship to the master classes of Andres Segovia in Spain, they have toured internationally as recitalists performing at the White House and the Kennedy Center and as concerto soloists with orchestras around the world, and have gone to the bathroom in Bret’s small New York apartment. 

Michael Karmon takes timne out form a vacation with his family to discuss the death of art in western civilization with art-death expert Bret Williams.  

Manhattan School of Music Guitar Co Chair David Leisner and Bret talk about bad smells and the second avenue subway. And about guitar and their parents. 

The best thing to come out of Columbia since Regan Era cocaine, Francisco Roldan sits with fellow Mannes alum Bret Williams to share tips on dealing with back pain. YOU GOTTA HEAR THIS!

"Hey man! You play flamingo guitar right? Like the mexican stuff? Wanna play when I marry my sister this weekend? Wait, you don't like Obama right?" Stop being stupid, and learn about flamenco guitar from America's top Flamenco Expert/Performer Dennis Koster on this episode of Classical Guitar Insider with me, Burp Williams. 

Hail to the Chief! New York Classical Guitar Society President John "How You Like Me Now" Olson joins Bret to talk science and guitar, because that's all Bret ever wants to talk about. Because he's so smart. 

William Kanengiser complements Bret on his apartment and sits down for coffee with him. Then he remembers that he's a professor at USC, has a Grammy, and is a founding member of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet. Instead of walking out, he takes a deep breath, smiles, and continues to answer the questions the embittered, broken man-child that calls himself an artist (Bret). 

Bret gets schooled by his teacher Fred Hand.